book review

David Baugher recently wrote a special to the St. Louis Jewish Light newspaper about Joe Regenbogen's nonfiction book, The Boys of Brookdale.

The St. Louis Jewish Light inspires their local community with their news and information. They are the award-winning newspaper of the Jewish community for St. Louis, and they publish print editions as well as online. With their motto being "Connecting the Community," The Light serves Regenbogen's book well for St. Louis.

The Boys of Brookdale tells of 16 stories from veterans living in a nursing home located in St. Louis. Baugher, the reviewer for The Light, reveals why Regenbogen began his journey with these veterans and why their stories are treasures.

Harry Levins wrote a special to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch giving his insights on Joe Regenbogen's nonfiction book, The Boys of Brookdale.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is known as the No. 1 St. Louis site for news, sports, and entertainment. Their website offers local breaking news, information, and special reports.

The Boys of Brookdale makes a good fit for their bookshelf of reviews because the nursing home where Joe Regenbogen interviewed the featured Veterans is located in St. Louis. Regenbogen's book tells the story of 16 Veterans, who lived through the Second World War. Levins, the reviewer, comments how people should cherish these 16 stories in Regenbogen's novel since three of the Veterans have unfortunately now passed.

Regenbogen also explained how these Veterans take great pride in knowing their story is being told to others.

Discover 16 Brookdale residents, who survived through World War II, and learn of the Holocaust, prisoners, aviation, and other battles.

The author seeks media interviews on this important topic or reviews or mentions of his book in the media.

Book overview

Sixteen Amazing Stories from the Second World War Discovered in One Senior-Living Facility.

Of the 16 million people who served in the Second World War, perhaps less than half a million are still alive (as of this writing). Regrettably, these veterans are currently dying at a rate of approximately 500 per day. Brookdale Creve Coeur is a local senior living facility in the suburbs of St. Louis that houses a number of these veterans. It also happens to be where the author's 85-year-old father recently moved. Places like Brookdale contain a treasure trove of remarkable and inspiring stories from World War Two.

For this book, the author interviewed 16 Brookdale residents with memories from the Second World War and have written their stories into the chapters of this book. Among their accounts are a B-24 pilot shot down over the Pacific, two veterans from the Battle of the Bulge, a WAVE, a prisoner-of-war, and a Holocaust survivor.

About the Author

Joe Regenbogen is currently a retired high school history teacher. For the last four years, however, he has continued teaching American History part-time in a program for exceptionally gifted 7th and 8th-grade students. At the end of their two years with Joe, these students take the AP exam in U.S. History and so far, they have all done well enough to earn college credit. Since Joe no longer teaches all day, he has taken up writing as a rewarding way to spend his extra time. Vernon Press published his first book entitled Questioning History.

Book review

“The Boys of Brookdale

Outstanding book! You won't be able to put it down! Wonderful stories of 16 WW II Veterans (living at Brookdale along with the authors father) who share their experiences and life lessons…”

At age 2, Josiah Viera was diagnosed with Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria, a terminal childhood illness. His family was given the impossible task to fill a lifetime of memories into a few short years, but then, Josiah fell in love with the game of baseball, the State College Spike of the St. Louis Cardinals adopted him, and together started on a journey - and a season - that would change all of their lives forever.

Book overview:

No parent is ever ready for a terminal diagnosis of their child. No mother should see the day where turning off your son's ventilator is the only option to end his pain. And no grandfather should see the day when your grandchild is scheduled to die in his mother's arms. But on September 10, 2005, this was the harsh reality facing our family, and this was the day we’d never forget.

I am no pastor; nor a preacher. I am no miracle worker, nor a missionary. I am a struggling husband, a decent father, a survivor of brutal child abuse, and from the miraculous survival and extraordinary life of a Progeria child, I am a believer saved by the Grace of God through Jesus Christ.

In A Short Season: Faith, Family, and a Boy's Love for Baseball, Dave Bohner, the story’s narrator and grandfather to Josiah, and Jake Gronsky, former professional baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals organization, tell the powerful story of Josiah Viera’s fight for life that not only sparked a family's journey towards healing but inspired a generation of baseball players from one of the most historic organizations in Major League Baseball.

A Short Season is a story of hope; a story of acceptance; and a story of faith based on the idea that sometimes a person’s only journey to peace is first trekked through pain. A Short Season is a family’s journey through sorrow and joy, it is a baseball team’s inspiration, and it is the story of one exceptional child’s ray of hope that changed all of their lives forever.

Book review:

"Josiah is an inspiration!

I had the great pleasure of spending a few hours with Josiah Viera and his lovely mother, Jennifer, a few years ago. Josiah is a powerhouse in a frail, little body. He has more energy and exudes more positive vibes than almost anyone else I've ever been around. Makes one wonder what could possibly be so wrong in life if this young man - who could be wallowing in self-pity but has chosen not to play victim - can show us all just how wonderful and precious life can be. I've been looking forward to reading this book for months and was not disappointed. Recommend to all and especially to those who need a dose of inspiration."

~ Linda H, five-star review on Amazon

About the people:

DAVE BOHNER is a husband, father, grandfather, and retired welder who has served in the PA Air National Guard, United States Air Force. He is currently president of the Hegins Area Ambulance Association and has been a medical technician for the past twenty-seven years. He loves the game of baseball, meeting new people, and above all, Jesus.

JOSIAH VIERA is fourteen years old and just finished first year of junior high school. He loves God, baseball, dancing, and hanging out with friends. Josiah is an honorary bench coach for the State College Spikes, the newly ‘hired’ bench coach for the TriValley Junior High baseball team, and an honorary member of the St. Louis Cardinals. Every day, Josiah’s goal is to enjoy life and to simply have fun!

JAKE GRONSKY is a former professional baseball player in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Jake now works with former and current professional athletes, writing stories of faith, courage, and perseverance. He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and can be found on Twitter @Jake_Gronsky or contacted by email at Gronsky.Jake@gmail.com.

When Joe Farrell and Joe Farley researched Pennsylvania graves, an old movie inspired them to shed light on the graves of famous people in New York.

Book overview:

The Joes ventured to the Big Apple and its boroughs to visit the graves of the rich, famous, and infamous.

This first volume of the Gotham Graves series focuses on those persons famous in and around New York City who were fascinating figures in their times, such as:

Louis Armstrong

Anne Bancroft

Nellie Bly

Jim Farley

...& more!

This second volume of the Gotham Graves series focuses on those persons interred in and around New York City who were interesting figures in their times, such as:

"Gentleman Jim" Corbett

Andrew Carnegie

Irving Berlin

Lou Gehrig

...& more!

Farrell and Farley have combed New York City to bring you the most entertaining biographies about interesting people buried in New York.

Book review:

"I might sound a bit strange, but have always found a sort of peace walking through graveyards and reading the headstones of all who have gone before me. I try to read as many books as I can find on graveyards and cemeteries, and people’s final resting places, so this book was of special interest. Not to play favorites, but the one who got my attention in this book was Dorothy Kilgallen. I’ve always been interested in her life, and also supposedly controversial death. Thank you to Netgalley and Sunbury Press, Inc for an ARC of this book."

~ Julie, Amazon costumer

About the author:

In 1975, Joe Farrell hired Mr. Farley to work in the Governor’s Action Center. Nine years later Farrell would repeat his mistake by hiring Mr. Farley to work for him at the Public Utility Commission. On May 21, 2010, after 35 years of state service he retired. Mr. Farley has not returned to work because he has been unable to find a cushy high paying position like Joe Farrell’s. In addition, Mr. Farrell has apparently learned from his past mistakes as he has not attempted to hire Mr. Farley a third time. As a result, Mr. Farley has concentrated his efforts at co-authoring his books Keystone Tombstones.

Coast to Coast Newspaper publishes a compelling review of R.E.M.F. - Vietnam's Other GIs, written by John VanDevanter Carter.

Roberta Deen, from Coast to Coast Newspaper, recently published her review of John VanDevanter Carter's book, R.E.M.F. - Vietnam's Other GIs. This is a nonfiction, historical novel about the Vietnam war.

She names R.E.M.F. - Vietnam's Other GIs as a "page-turner" after finishing the book herself.

Jack the Ripper, the (unfortunately) famous serial killer of the Whitechapel area, gets a new name in Michael Hawley's evidence-packed book, Jack the Ripper Suspect Dr. Francis Tumblety.

Book overview:

Jack the Ripper Suspect Dr. Francis Tumblety highlights the most recent groundbreaking discoveries concerning one of Scotland Yard’s top Jack the Ripper suspects in the 1888 Whitechapel Murders Investigation, Dr. Francis Tumblety. Among the discoveries is over 700 pages of never-seen-before sworn testimonies revealing not only a picture of an antisocial narcissist with a single-minded lifelong drive for exploitation but also damning evidence that he may indeed have been the Whitechapel fiend.

Book review:

"...Michael Hawley has outdone himself...this is not just a reprinting of his last book with an extra chapter this is a whole new book with a virtual mountain of newly discovered material (including the discovery of over 700 pages of testimony regarding Dr. Tumblety after his death!!). It paints a much clearer picture of the mind of this unusual but fascinating "man."

Michael gives us an almost complete account of the whereabouts of Tumblety during and after the autumn of terror and paints a compelling argument that it is possible that Dr. Tumblety and Jack the Ripper may be one in the same.

...

It can be difficult to read about such an un-likeable figure, but Hawley keeps the reader fascinated by not only the style in which he writes (academic yet enthralling) but by the sheer amount of information, so much of it new to even the staunchest ‘Ripperologist’ or true crime enthusiast. This will be a book researchers will keep at their side for years to come....a perfect example of allowing the FACTS and EVIDENCE to tell the story..not the writers personal views...hats off to Michael for that.

This may be the best ‘Ripper’ book in a decade...and that is saying a lot considering the amazing work done by such fantastic writers and historians like A.J Griffith and Tom Wescott..5 stars doesn't seem like enough."

~ Brian Young, five star review on Amazon

About the author:

Michael Hawley has published over a dozen research articles in journals dedicated to the Whitechapel murders/Jack the Ripper mystery, namely Ripperologist, Whitechapel Society Journal, Casebook Examiner, and The Dagger, and published online articles for numerous websites. He was awarded Article of the Year for 2016 for the most popular Jack the Ripper website, which is based out of London, England. He was honored to lecture at the Jack the Ripper Conference (RipperCon) in Baltimore, Maryland, in April 2016, and the Jack the Ripper Conference in Liverpool, England, in September 2017. Hawley is the author of The Ripper’s Haunts (Nonfiction, 2016) with the top book reviewer and author, Paul Begg, stating, “Hawley’s Magnum Opus” is “head and shoulders above the new Ripper offerings in 2016,” and “for that matter, 2015.” He was honored to be interviewed in two separate podcasts for Rippercast. He is also the author of The Watchmaker Revelations, a mystery/thriller fiction trilogy: The Ripper’s Hellbroth, Jack’s Lantern, and Curse of the Bayou Beast. He is also the author of Searching for Truth with a Broken Flashlight (Nonfiction, 2010), which was awarded June 2011 Book of the Month for the mega-website, ReligiousTolerance.org, and was the subject of an article in the Buffalo Spree, June 2011. Hawley holds a Master’s degree in science (invertebrate paleontology) and secondary science education at State University of New York, College of Buffalo, and a Bachelor’s degree in geology and geophysics at Michigan State University. He was a commander and naval aviator in the U.S. Navy (retired), and is currently enjoying a career as a secondary earth science and chemistry teacher. He resides with his wife and six children in Greater Buffalo, New York.